1. 1 The Itty Bitty Telescope and Sidewalk Radio Astronomy Sue Ann Heatherly National Radio Astronomy Observatory www.nrao.edu

2. 2 What is radio astronomy?

3. 3 Radio Waves are NOT sound!

4. 4 A light wave is a light wave, no matter how long...

5. 5 Radio Telescope Optical Telescope Nowadays, there are more similarities between optical and radio telescopes than ever before.

6. 6 Optical and radio astronomy can be done from the ground! Credit: Windows to the Universe, thence to NASA/STSCI/JHU

7. 7 A Tour of the Radio Sky

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9. 9 Gas Spectra Neon Sodium Hydrogen

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17. 17 Building an Itty Bitty Telescope GBTIBT David Fields with kids in Memphis

18. 18 RV Kit--$60 from Ebay 12 GHz satellite dish combined with a signal meter becomes a radio telescope!

19. 19 Constructing the dish

20. 20 Realigning the mounting sleeve

21. 21 Mounting Sleeve Schematic

22. 22 Mounting the Dish

23. 23 Finishing Up

24. 24 Detectors produce an audible tone which increases in pitch when you detect radio signals. Most expensive ($99). Has built in battery. Mid-priced ($50), needs a power supply. Cheapie! ($15), needs a power supply.

25. 25 Making the power supply

26. 26 Preparing the Coax

27. 27 Assembling the battery pack

28. 28 Battery Pack Schematic

29. 29 Done! Using the IBT

30. 30 The Sun emits radio waves!

31. 31 You emit radio waves!

32. 32 Geostationary satellites ( Can you find 0° dec?)

33. 33 Trees (the ground, buildings, anything with a temperature) emit radio waves!

34. 34 Questions? sheather@nrao.edu sheather@nrao.edu